A Review of 'String This' Strings,
plus a couple of great eCommerce sites
You'll notice that below the content on each page on this site there are "Sponsored
Links." Basically, yes, they're advertisements - the kind of links you
know better than to click on! Normally, I pretty much ignore the commercial
angle of this site, however, the current batch of sponsors got my attention:
Cheap strings? Free MP3s? Should I click? Should my readers?... So, I've done
a little research on those who are sponsoring this site and here's what I've
found, much to my delight:
String This is actually a very legitimate source of strings. They sent me samples of their $2 80/20 and Phosphor Bronze strings and I found their performance to be very similar to the Martin strings I've been buying at a similar price for several years - in fact, they may very well BE Martin strings for all I know (they are made by an unnamed "major" manufacturer - the bulk packaging looks the same). I've done my last several concerts and workshops with them and - amazingly! - have not broken a single one. And they hold their pitch. My summer concerts have been mainly outdoors, in humid weather, which may contribute to some of the premature signs of wear - oxidation and loss of brightness, especially on one set of phosphor bronzes. But Martin strings are also known for going "dead" relatively quickly - in fact, a lot of players I know like this lack of artificial brilliance, which leads to a more natural tone. In any case, you most likely wouldn't buy strings in bulk like this if you weren't playing a lot and changing your strings often. Overall, I'd say they are indeed comparable to the strings I've been using and I'd buy from these folks when my supply runs low. Can't beat the price or the convenience of ordering online.
efolkmusic.com is one of my own favorite sites to browse. I check there often for free MP3s and information on interesting new releases. The site is easy to use and they carry a lot of great music. In my correspondence with them, I've found them to be very committed to promoting high-quality acoustic music.
eBay needs no introduction. You can buy or sell just about anything there - whether it's used records and CDs (doesn't even have to be out of print), instruments or recording equipment. The site is well-known for being clean and trustworthy - just about everyone I know has traded there. I'm getting ready to sell some old audio equipment there myself.
I can't say much about the dance and drum links, as these are out of my field.
But all theSponsored Links are safe - no pop-up windows, links to kink or fancy
computer-crashing multimedia screens that still have bugs in them. And no unsolicited
e-mail or getting signed up for spam - at least as far as I can tell. So, this
is not so much an endorsement but, say, a scouting mission. I've had efolkmusic.com
among the Netlinks in my editorial content for awhile - I've now added the other
two.
Hugh Blumenfeld, Editor
hugh@balladtree.com
|
|
||||
|
|
|
|
|
|